Grateful Trees and Bees
About Grateful Trees and Bees
The N.C. Forest Service register lists Grateful Trees and Bees across twelve counties — the Triangle and the ring of counties north and west of it — with sixteen services, appraisal, cruising and timber sale administration among them. The firm's own site describes a more urban practice than that list suggests. GTB calls itself “a different kind of tree company”: a family-operated business co-owned by Jacob Pressley and Jennifer Socey, proud, it says, to call Durham home since its opening in 2013, and serving “clients in Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and their environs.” It sorts the work into three groups. Urban forestry covers custom climbing and pruning, removals and stump grinding, plantings, health assessments, decay mapping and pruning clinics. Traditional forestry covers stewardship plans, timber sales and harvest compliance, the Present-Use Tax program, regeneration plans, forest inventories and valuations, tree protection plans and watershed protection plans. A third group it calls “the spaces between” holds appraisals and valuations, pre-construction consults, tree protection compliance, species identification tours, firewood delivery and beekeeping referrals. The site states that arboriculture work is performed or overseen by ISA Certified Arborist #SO-5685A, and that “forestry consulting, stewardship plans, and timber sales are provided by North Carolina Registered Forester #1753” — the registration the register already carries. The firm says it has “made the conscious decision to resist the false narrative that says bigger is always better,” runs a single crew, and offers quotes on a published sliding scale; it describes its prescriptions as suiting land “whether that’s one acre, or 100 acres.” Grateful Trees & Bees is a division of 43560 Enterprises, LLC. It closes for breaks in the autumn, winter and spring and for an extended summer hiatus. As described on gratefultreesandbees.com, read 23 September 2026.
Can they handle a timber sale?
Selling standing timber properly takes three things. Here's what the state register credits this firm with.
Timber AppraisalAn estimate of what your standing timber is worth in dollars, based on how much there is, its quality, and current prices. When you are selling, settling an estate, dividing property, or need a value for taxes or insurance.What does this mean? →
works out what your standing timber is worth
Timber Cruise & Volume EstimateA field measurement of your standing trees — their species, sizes, and quality — that adds up to how much wood you actually have. Before you sell, so you go in knowing roughly what is out there rather than taking a buyer's word for it.What does this mean? →
measures and grades what's actually out there
Timber Sale & Contract AdministrationRunning the sale for you: advertising the timber, taking bids, writing the contract, and overseeing the logging so the agreed terms are met. When you want someone on your side handling the whole sale rather than dealing with buyers and loggers yourself.What does this mean? →
runs the sale and handles the contract
Everything they're registered for
Hover or tap a service to see what it means for you.
Grateful Trees and Bees
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Registered forester
Member of
International Society of Arboriculture
Society of American Foresters